by Peter Moore
Some years ago, as a friend’s mother was recounting the events of her Mediterranean cruise, she described Greek customs officials coming on the boat in Athens: “They went through everything, they were like the goddamned gazpacho.” It works best in a Texas accent, but in any event, it forever branded this cooling Spanish soup as “the goddamned gazpacho” for me. Continue reading
by Peter Moore
I know I promised the Cassoulet/Cass-Olé recipe this week, but the photo gods did smote me mightily by making my pictures blurry—“pun”ishment comes in many forms—and it will have to wait until next issue.
What I’ve got instead is a take on eggplant parmesan made more as an individual serving rather than a warm mass of layered sautéed eggplant, cheeses, and tomato sauce. And because everything tastes better when you put an egg on it, I topped it with a poached egg. Continue reading
Yigit (rhymes with “sweet”) Pura is a sugar fiend … and a pastry dynamo! His striking desserts have sparked excitement and devotion throughout his career, from the top pastry kitchens of New York and San Francisco to the winner’s podium on Top Chef: Just Desserts . His sugar showcase is Tout Sweet Patisserie, his pâtisserie and dessert laboratory on San Francisco’s Union Square. Continue reading
The rich and complex flavors of classic Indian dishes like Lamb Biryani, Palak Paneer, and chicken in a creamy tomato-butter sauce can take hours to develop through such techniques as extended braising and low simmering. In The New Indian Slow Cooker , veteran cooking teacher and chef Neela Paniz revolutionizes the long, slow approach to making Indian cuisine by rethinking its traditional recipes for the slow cooker. Continue reading
by Peter Moore
Goat is not so much an acquired taste as an abandoned one. People have been eating goat for centuries, just not so much in America. It’s lean and gamey and outside the comfort zone of modern American food. Middle Eastern and Mexican communities have always cooked goat, but it wasn’t that easy to find—certainly not in the supermarket meat counter.
by Dianne Boate
There was a terrible sound from the kitchen, an ominous chorus. I took another sip of champagne, closed my eyes, and waited for the four folks in the kitchen to report their mischief. These well-meaning individuals had decided to cook up a spaghetti / meat sauce dinner-–(“You won’t have to do a thing, Dianne.”) Dianne wasn’t about to do anything, having cooked and baked her heart out for 12 people at a Stern Grove Concert Consular Corps Table picnic that day.
More than just the shot of choice and the foundation for margaritas, tequila is a liquor rich in history and lore. Created from the distilled juice of the agave plant, tequila enjoys widespread fame as a prized position in Mesoamerican society. Understanding the creation and development of tequila adds depth to its enjoyment and appreciation; Karl Petzke’s Tequila: Myth, Magic & Spirited Recipes offers the perfect key to unlock the complex world of this storied beverage, with information about the history, making, and tasting of tequila.
by Vince Keenan
The current cocktail renaissance comes garnished with nostalgia, a longing for the bygone era when drinks were poured as part of an evening out in sophisticated nightclubs. No amount of speakeasy trappings and period bartender facial hair can recapture the glamour of yesteryear’s storied watering holes. The next best thing is to enjoy libations named in their honor.
In The King and I , Yul Brynner plays the King of Siam. Accused of being a barbarian, he decides to stage an elaborate banquet in order to prove to visiting Brits that this is not so. He serves traditionally English food to charm the British ambassador, eaten Western-style with knives and forks. After the guests are gone, he pensively sits at the banqueting table with a rice bowl and chopsticks, eating alone. Joined by Anna, played by the very British Deborah Kerr, he suddenly announces, “The fork is a foolhardy instrument, you pick up food, and it leaks!” Continue reading
by Peter Moore
I love Colman Andrews’ essay on his weight. “It is my opinion that whoever said ‘Nothing tastes as good as thin feels’ has probably never sat down with three ounces of Iranian osetra, a stack of freshly made blinis (the kind that aren’t made with pancake mix), a small bone spoon, and nobody else in the room.” Continue reading
Originally published in 1997, Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone was both ahead of its time and an instant classic. It has endured as one of the world’s most popular vegetarian cookbooks, winning both a James Beard Foundation award and the IACP Julia Child Cookbook of the Year award. Continue reading
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